Black NFL players arrested nearly 10 times as often as whites

10:39 AM,
Nov. 29, 2013

Mikel Leshoure and Nick Fairley of the Detroit Lions.

Written by

Brent Schrotenboer
USA TODAY

A police officer in Cincinnati watched a large black man get into his car and turn on the engine after being told it was illegally parked.

The officer thought the man was trying to avoid a parking ticket and told him to stop. So the man - Matthias Askew, at the time an NFL player - stopped his Cadillac Escalade, got out and was arrested in a scuffle with several officers. Police used a stun gun on Askew four times, alleging he resisted arrest.

A judge rejected the police account and cleared Askew of all charges. ...